In the variety of
displays on the tour, there are many depictions of Lincoln's life,
some through authentic artifacts and period-style art. But there are
also touches of drama through uniquely designed displays such as the
pocket watch room. The watch is much larger than life and is meant
to draw attention to Lincoln's years in New Salem through a unique
"touch and learn."

But in addition, the
clock leads visitors to recall that in the tour, they are walking with
Lincoln down memory lane. As his breathing becomes shallow,
his body falls weak, and his life is about to pass from this world
to the next, his mind may have traveled through the long list of
friends he had made, the lives that touched him and whom he
touched, and the memories of his successes and failures.

But perhaps the one
thing that never entered his thoughts was that he would in his
mortality become the most beloved president in our history. He
couldn't know that he would touch lives and move people to tears in
2014. He didn't know that in this generation, a child would
thank him for the fact that cousins in Georgia live free.